[net.comics] another X-gripe and musings about plot

harry@ucbarpa (07/13/85)

From: harry@ucbarpa (Harry I. Rubin)

I am **still** waiting for some follow-up to what once looked like the
beginning of an interesting plot or sub-plot.  I am referring to Mystique's
implication that she knows a lot about Kurt Wagner's (Nightcrawler's)
past.  Kurt, you will recall, was a foundling adopted and raised by
the sorceress Margali Szardos (sp?); he don't know where he came from.
Since Mystique, like Kurt, has blue skin (fur?) and "funny" eyes, Kurt
thinks they may even be blood relations.  All this was just mentioned
a couple of times back in X-Men ..., umm, around 160, I think.  Kurt 
seemed very interested, and I thought it looked interesting, but nothing
more was ever heard about it.  I am disappointed plot-wise, and as
for believability - Kurt seemed much too interested to just forget about it.

Hmmm.  This missing subplot could tie into a rope of recent subplots
and developments.  (If one speaks of the THREAD of a plot, and a plot
can TIE into other plots, then a bunch of plots is ... a rope, I guess.)
Rogue was a bad guy who became a good guy; Magneto was a bad guy who
looks like he is becoming a good guy; Karma was a good guy who became
a bad guy; Dazzler has been dancing on the fence about being a good guy
with the New Mutants or a bad guy with the Gladiators; is Lela Cheney
a good guy or a bad guy?; the whole bunch of Morlocks - are they good guys
or bad guys.  It looks like Our Favorite Plotters and Scripters are
playing with the idea of what's a bad guy and what's a good guy.  If they
can change sides just like that is there really much difference?  If we
can't tell whether certain characters are good guys or bad guys can there
be much difference?  Now here we had, or almost had, some stories about
two people who came from the same family background, maybe, yet one is
a hardcore good guy and the other a hardcore bad guy.  Could have been
pretty interesting.

Do you think that Our Plotters and Scripters are purposely exploring
this concept, or have I just invented a unifying concept that isn't really
there?  Is there, in fact, much difference between the good guys and
the bad guys?

P.S. Liz V. - good comments about Rachel, Scott, and Maddelyn (sp?).

P.P.S. Thanks for all the replies about Dangermouse being a cable TV show.
I tried to answer all mail, but some of my replies didn't get through.
I guess I can't watch it; not only do not have cable, I don't have a
television.  I will check out the videotape possibility though.  Thanks all.

tomj@wlcrjs.UUCP (Tom) (07/14/85)

> From: harry@ucbarpa (Harry I. Rubin)
> 
> I am **still** waiting for some follow-up to what once looked like the
> beginning of an interesting plot or sub-plot.  I am referring to Mystique's
> implication that she knows a lot about Kurt Wagner's (Nightcrawler's)
> past.
> 
> Hmmm.  This missing subplot could tie into a rope of recent subplots
> and developments.  (If one speaks of the THREAD of a plot, and a plot
> can TIE into other plots, then a bunch of plots is ... a rope, I guess.)
> Rogue was a bad guy who became a good guy; Magneto was a bad guy who
> looks like he is becoming a good guy; Karma was a good guy who became
> a bad guy; Dazzler has been dancing on the fence about being a good guy
> with the New Mutants or a bad guy with the Gladiators; is Lela Cheney
> a good guy or a bad guy?; the whole bunch of Morlocks - are they good guys
> or bad guys.  It looks like Our Favorite Plotters and Scripters are
> playing with the idea of what's a bad guy and what's a good guy.  If they
> can change sides just like that is there really much difference?  If we
> can't tell whether certain characters are good guys or bad guys can there
> be much difference?

	I believe the Marvel has promised to deal with Kurt's background in
the near future (or as some people say, "Real Soon Now"), but then again they
keep talking about an X-Men/Awful Flight team-up, and they haven't even taken
orders from specialty stores for it yet  --  and they've announced it in 
print already.
 
	As to the good guys/bad guys theme, it is one of the original concepts
of the X-men, back even before Claremont.  Claremont continued it, with 
Jean Grey/Pheonix/Dark Pheonix, the continuing mess with Magneto, and the
events surrounding LifeDeath I and soon after.  

	Is there a difference between good guys and bad guys?  In the real
world, everyone has a taint of sin or evil; most people have some good in them.
Adolf Hitler was certainly a "bad guy", but were Spencer-Churchill, FDR, and
Stalin good guys?  Unlike "Supper's Ready" and the Lord of the Rings, there is
not always a clear delineation in the real world, or in Claremont's mind.

	As a gripe aside, is anyone else put off by the attempts Marvel is
making to sell SW II?  Not once but twice do the editors of Awful Flight refer
to the same episode of SW II, and the second time they say "run out and buy 
before they're all gone" (or something close to that).

	Secret Bores is popular.  So is Rod McKuen (and for that matter,
so is the IBM PC, and (Dr.) Francis Sinatra)....

	Tom Johnston

ihnp4!wlcrjs!tomj

cd55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Chuck Dobrovolny) (07/15/85)

> From: harry@ucbarpa (Harry I. Rubin)
> 
> I am **still** waiting for some follow-up to what once looked like the
> beginning of an interesting plot or sub-plot.  

How about the Nightcrawler limited series?  Maybe that'll answer some 
questions about his past....

                                                   Chuck

sag@ihlpl.UUCP (Gore) (07/19/85)

> 	As a gripe aside, is anyone else put off by the attempts Marvel is
> making to sell SW II?  Not once but twice do the editors of Awful Flight refer
> to the same episode of SW II, and the second time they say "run out and buy 
> before they're all gone" (or something close to that).
> 
> 	Secret Bores is popular.  So is Rod McKuen (and for that matter,
> so is the IBM PC, and (Dr.) Francis Sinatra)....
> 
> 	Tom Johnston
> 
> ihnp4!wlcrjs!tomj

Maybe I should put this under SWII-gripe!  I don't like the way SW
II is spread out over several different comic series, notably Web of
Spiderman and Spectacular Spiderman.  I think it is also continued
in FF.  Are they going to do the entire series this way?  It's
really annoying!


"...to read comics is divine.."

 	S. Gore